Updated: Medtronic Plans 'Global' Job Cuts

UPDATED: Medtronic will cut as many as 2,000 jobs worldwide by the end of 2012, the Fridley-based company announced Tuesday. The cuts will come to Medtronic's "global workforce," spokesman Brian Henry said Tuesday—with "no specific figures for geographies" where the job losses might fall. Medtronic employs 8,000 people in Minnesota.

UPDATE I: According to Henry, 2,800 of Medtronic's Minnesota employees work at the company's facilities in Fridley. "Most employees who are impacted by these workforce reductions will be notified by early May," he said. Were Medtronic to cut 5 percent of its Fridley employees, there would be 140 fewer jobs in the city.

UPDATE II: "If there are layoffs here, it certainly will not help," said Dr. William Burns, Fridley's city manager, "We've been losing a lot of jobs in Fridley." Burns detailed those losses in the city's current newsletter: a decline of 1,126 jobs, or 5.1 percent, from the first quarter of 2009 through the first quarter of 2010, the latest data available from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).

It's the biggest layoff announcement to hit the local medical-technology business scene in at least six months, said Ryan Baird, a spokesman for LifeScience Alley, a Minnesota-based medical-technology industry trade association. The industry has seen periodic waves of recession-related job cuts, Baird said.

Here is the company's official statement, from a Medtronic news release about third-quarter earnings:

"In order to align its cost structure to current market conditions and continue to position Medtronic for long-term sustainable growth, the company will be restructuring its business. The restructuring will occur through a combination of cost-saving measures, tighter expense management, and voluntary programs to minimize layoffs. Based on current expectations, the company intends to reduce its workforce by 4 to 5 percent, or 1,500 to 2,000 positions during Q4. The company also expects to recognize a one-time charge in Q4 related to this restructuring."